Suicide Blast in Baghdad Kills 35
By VOA News
04 January 2009
Iraqi security officials say a female suicide bomber has killed at least 35 people and wounded 65 others near the entrance to a Shi'ite shrine in northern Baghdad.
Officials say the bomber set off her explosives among a crowd of pilgrims at a checkpoint to the shrine in the Kadhimiya neighborhood, as Shi'ites prepared for the Ashura holiday later this week.
Security officials say most of the victims of the blast near the Imam Moussa al-Kadhim shrine were Iranian pilgrims, including women and children.
Ashura commemorates Imam Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, who died in a seventh-century battle. Ashura observances have been marked by sectarian clashes in recent years.
Hundreds of thousands of Shi'ite pilgrims are expected in Baghdad and Karbala for Ashura, which is January seventh this year.
In other news, the U.S. military transferred control of tribal guards units in Diyala province to the Iraqi government Sunday.
The units are made up mostly of Sunni Arabs and former insurgents. U.S. officials credit the group's nearly 100,000 members with helping to drastically reduce the level of violence around the country.
Eventually, the members either will be integrated into the Iraqi military and police, or will be provided with civilian jobs and training.
The handover is part of the new security deal that calls for U.S. forces to be withdrawn from the country by 2011.
Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.
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